Americans United - Congressional Prayer Caucushttps://au.org/tags/congressional-prayer-caucus
enAiming High: Air Force Advances Freedom – Despite Carping From Some In Congresshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/aiming-high-air-force-advances-freedom-despite-carping-from-some-in
<div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Let us celebrate Gen. Schwartz’s brave move to ensure church-state separation and change what was once considered as the Air Force’s exclusionary religious culture. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>By Noah Fitzgerel</p><p>We have yet another reason to appreciate, admire and learn from those serving in uniform. Retiring Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the Air Force, earlier this month issued an unequivocal mandate ensuring the separation of church and state. His action reminds us of the progress the military continues to make in ensuring religious freedom for our men and women in uniform.</p><p>After surveying Section 2.11 of the latest update to the Air Force Instruction (AFI), I was left with a smile. It reads, “Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for an individual’s free exercise of religion or other personal beliefs and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion.”</p><p>The Air Force, in recent years, has encountered a plethora of internal <a href="http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/is-the-air-force-forcing-fundamentalism-academy-cadets-complain-of">situations</a> that have threatened to sully its reputation for remaining true to our First Amendment. It was only seven years ago, after all, that cadets at the renowned Air Force Academy accused school leaders of publicly promoting evangelical Christian sentiment to an extent that felt exclusionary.</p><p>Perhaps Gen. Schwartz had this in mind when he included the following language in the latest update to the AFI: “[Leaders] must avoid the actual or apparent use of their position to promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion.”</p><p>We are a pluralistic nation. We welcome those of both religious and non-religious inclinations. There is not one reason that the military body that is supposed to protect such a population should not <em>reflect</em> such a population. As evidenced by the language quoted above, Gen. Schwartz understands this sentiment.</p><p>Unfortunately, it seems as if there are some Americans who do not agree and consequently disapprove of the changing culture within the Air Force. In fact, 66 of them are members of Congress.</p><p>According to <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/22/13397843-air-force-rules-limit-size-of-tattoos-role-of-gospel">NBC News</a>, the Congressional Prayer Caucus sent Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta a <a href="http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/06/airforce-lawmakers-letter-panetta-religion-062212w/">letter</a> of protest two months ago regarding a similar measure <a href="http://au.org/church-state/october-2011-church-state/au-bulletin/air-force-issues-new-religious-activities">taken</a> by Gen. Schwartz regarding the role of Air Force chaplains. It read, “We believe this statement exemplifies the troubling 'complete separation' [of church and state] approach that is creating a chilling effect down the chain of command as airmen attempt to comply.”</p><p>To these members of Congress, Gen. Schwartz’s clear stand for religious freedom is actually an affront <em>against</em> religious freedom!</p><p>The Prayer Caucus’ troubling take causes me to think that our next stop in this fight will be in the halls of Congress.</p><p>Nonetheless, let us celebrate Gen. Schwartz’s brave move to ensure church-state separation and change what was once considered as the Air Force’s exclusionary religious culture.</p><p><em>Noah Fitzgerel is a summer intern at Americans United. He is a rising senior at Annandale High School, Annandale, Va.</em></p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Outside the Workplace: Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (including in the Military, Prisons, Housing, Healthcare, etc.)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gen-norton-a-schwartz">Gen. Norton A. Schwartz</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/air-force">Air Force</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/congressional-prayer-caucus">Congressional Prayer Caucus</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/air-force-academy">Air Force Academy</a></span></div></div>Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:09:37 +0000Joseph L. Conn7467 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/aiming-high-air-force-advances-freedom-despite-carping-from-some-in#commentsAir Farce: Religious Right Allies Complain About Removal Of ‘God’ From Military Mottohttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/air-farce-religious-right-allies-complain-about-removal-of-%E2%80%98god%E2%80%99-from
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Putting God’s name on the motto of a government-funded institution is deeply offensive to nonbelievers, those who believe in many gods, those who believe in the Goddess, those who refer to their deity or deities by another name and, frankly, anyone else who appreciates church-state separation.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It seems there is no limit to the minute, inane issues that get the Religious Right all hot and bothered.</p><p>On Feb. 6, 36 members of Congress -- including Congressional Prayer Caucus Co-chair Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) -- <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/culture/social-issues/lawmaker-angry-over-loss-of-god-in-air-force-logo">sent a letter</a> to Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz in protest of the removal of "God" from the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) logo.</p><p>In their <a href="http://forbes.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=278608">letter</a>, Forbes and his allies said “The action taken by the RCO suggests that all references to God, regardless of their context, must be removed from the military. We ask that you reverse this perplexing decision.”</p><p>The logo, which was recently altered thanks to a complaint from the Military Association of Atheists and Free Thinkers, contained the motto <em>Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus</em> (Doing God's Work with Other People's Money). The motto is now <em>Miraculi Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus</em> (Doing Miracles with Other People's Money).</p><p>I’m not much of a Latin scholar, but I’m glad the Air Force changed the motto. This was an affront to church-state separation, plus it was kind of weird. Apparently the motto had been an inside joke for years, but I don’t think it’s especially funny.</p><p>For some reason, religious mottos have been a big issue lately in Congress, especially for Forbes. If you recall, the Virginia Republican was the one who led the crusade in the U.S. House of Representatives in November to have “In God We Trust” <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/misplaced-trust-house-set-to-vote-on-%E2%80%98in-god-we-trust%E2%80%99-resolution">reaffirmed as the official motto of this country</a>, even though absolutely no one had suggested it wasn’t the motto.</p><p>Doesn’t Forbes have anything better to do? He’s so busy making sure that the word “God” is attached to every motto in the United States that he must not have time for much else – like helping fix the economy. </p><p>Forbes said in November that he’s out to end “a disturbing trend of inaccuracies and omissions, misunderstandings of church and state, rogue court challenges and efforts to remove God from the public domain by unelected bureaucrats.”</p><p>Far more disturbing than the horror stories Forbes is spreading are his efforts to inject religion into as many aspects of public life as possible. His duty is to uphold the Constitution. Instead, he’s ignoring it.</p><p>If I were able to sit down with Forbes, I’d have just one question for him – who is hurt by having “God” removed from an official U.S. military motto?</p><p>Putting God’s name on the motto of a government-funded institution is deeply offensive to nonbelievers, those who believe in many gods, those who believe in the Goddess, those who refer to their deity or deities by another name and, frankly, anyone else who appreciates church-state separation.</p><p>Forbes and his allies need to understand that they are wading into deeply divisive ideological matters at the expense of doing the jobs they were elected to do. It’s time they refocus their energy on helping the citizens of the United States in a meaningful way, rather than taking offense at a change to an insignificant motto. </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/government-sponsored-religious-displays">Government-Sponsored Religious Displays</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-mottos-pledges-and-resolutions-outside-schools">Religious Mottos, Pledges and Resolutions (outside schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/randy-forbes">Randy Forbes</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/air-force-rapid-capabilities-office">Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/congressional-prayer-caucus">Congressional Prayer Caucus</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/norton-schwartz">Norton Schwartz</a></span></div></div>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:11:29 +0000Simon Brown6754 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/air-farce-religious-right-allies-complain-about-removal-of-%E2%80%98god%E2%80%99-from#commentsRaucous Caucus: Rep. Forbes’ Seeks To Spread ‘Prayer’ Affiliates To All 50 Stateshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/raucous-caucus-rep-forbes%E2%80%99-seeks-to-spread-%E2%80%98prayer%E2%80%99-affiliates-to-all-50
<a href="/about/people/bathija">Sandhya Bathija</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">U.S. Rep. Forbes has set up a nonprofit Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation to raise money to franchise the prayer-caucus concept to state legislatures.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) is <a href="http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16793">on a crusade</a> against church-state separation.</p>
<p>Forbes founded and co-chairs the Congressional Prayer Caucus – a group of 64 members of Congress who <a href="http://www.au.org/media/church-and-state/archives/2008/11/religious-right.html">recognize</a> “prayer as a fundamental and enduring feature of American life” and want to “use the legislative process – both through sponsorship of affirmative legislation and through opposition to detrimental legislation – to assist the nation and its people in continuing to draw upon and benefit from this essential source of our strength and well-being.”</p>
<p>When you cut through the pious rhetoric, that means Forbes and Co. want to pass laws to promote their theocratic vision of America. That’s directly counter to the vision of our nation’s Founders who gave us the First Amendment and forbade Congress to make any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”</p>
<p>For example, Forbes has <a href="http://blog.au.org/2010/04/22/prayer-day-politics-u-s-house-members-rush-to-criticize-court-ruling/">introduced</a> two resolutions in the House in defense of the congressionally mandated National Day of Prayer, after a federal district court rightfully struck down the government-sponsored religious day as unconstitutional.</p>
<p>Now Forbes has set up a nonprofit Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation to raise money to franchise the prayer-caucus concept to state legislatures. These affiliates will exist to monitor and oppose legislation, agency rulings and court opinions that uphold church-state separation. Mississippi has already signed on, and Virginia and Florida are working on it.</p>
<p>Forbes <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100612/defending-christianitys-place-in-us-against-anti-faith-attacks/">discussed his plans</a> with James Dobson on Friday’s Family Talk broadcast, Dobson’s radio show. (Dobson founded the Religious Right powerhouse Focus on the Family, but now seems to be building a new broadcasting empire.)</p>
<p>“The country is in a great deal of trouble and I just felt like we needed to do something about it,” said Dobson, who suggested that there is a growing assault on Christianity in America. Forbes, of course, agreed, claiming these state prayer caucuses will be a way to deal with these “attacks.”</p>
<p>It’s the same sad song the Religious Right always sings.</p>
<p>But we all know better. Forbes and Dobson aren’t concerned with threats to religion; they’re concerned with finding ways to impose their faith on others.</p>
<p>And we at Americans United are just as determined to see that they don’t succeed. Keep an eye on your state legislature. Forbes and his Religious Right forces are on the move.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/congressional-prayer-caucus">Congressional Prayer Caucus</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religion-public-life">Religion in Public Life</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rep-j-randy-forbes">Rep. J. Randy Forbes</a></span></div></div>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:41:16 +0000Sandhya Bathija2443 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/raucous-caucus-rep-forbes%E2%80%99-seeks-to-spread-%E2%80%98prayer%E2%80%99-affiliates-to-all-50#comments